Police have arrested 20 schoolies on Queensland's Gold Coast last night, with 111 arrests so far this year, which is 68 fewer than at the same stage of the 2009 festival.

Last night, the 20 schoolies were detained on 21 charges, mostly relating to public nuisance and street offences.

Police are warning parents against topping up alcohol supplies for underage schoolies.

Superintendent Jim Keogh says some schoolies run out of alcohol around now and call an adult to bring more.

He says supplying alcohol to a minor can attract fines of up to $750, although police have not imposed the penalty yet at this year's celebration.

"There were parents who were spoken to by police in relation to the bump-in when alcohol is primarily supplied to the minors," he said.

"I think they're getting the message that this is hopefully tending towards an alcohol-free event."

Evictions

He says the annual schoolies party has come to a premature end for some teenagers on the Gold Coast.

Superintendent Keogh says a number of young people have been evicted from their accommodation.

He says police have investigated reports of items being thrown from buildings in Surfers Paradise.

"There have been people - schoolies - evicted by way of behaviour that's not simply linked to police, it's simply their behaviour within the unit complexes," he said.

"I know a number of schoolies are up to warning number two, with one warning to go, and it's an early trip home for them."

Superintendent Keogh says the class of 2010 has been generally well behaved.

He says police receive a number of inquiries from worried parents during Schoolies celebrations.

"We understand the concerns of the parents out there - most of the police being parents themselves and many of them, including myself, having seen their kids come through schoolies and it can be a worrying time," he said.

"It is important that we can allay those fears wherever possible but I think the kids are pretty good this day and age.

"They keep in communication with their parents and make sure they are not stressing them too much."

Drug bust

Meanwhile, a 19-year-old man from Brisbane will face court next month accused of trying to sell drugs in the Gold Coast Schoolies precinct.

Superintendent Keogh says the man was arrested on the Esplanade at Surfers Paradise with 100 ecstasy tablets.

He says the drugs were not offered to schoolies.

"None have been supplied to schoolies and it is good to have 100 ecstasy tablets, whether they are for schoolies or non-schoolies, taken out of the precinct," he said.

"The crackdown will continue - as I said yesterday, there are a lot of plain clothes policemen down there, there's a lot of surveillance cameras down there.

"These people need to know they are being watched."

The Gold Coast Schoolies festival ends on Friday night.

Drink safe precincts

The manager of the Gold Coast Schoolies Chill Out Zones, Angela Driscoll, says services at Queensland's new 'drink safe' precincts will mirror those already provided in Surfers Paradise.

Ms Driscoll says teams will provide practical support from a caravan based in Surfers and at Fortitude Valley in Brisbane from December 8.

She says foot patrols will also identify and help people who have had too much to drink.

"Obviously the police wouldn't leave someone sitting by themselves if they were ill," she said.

"They can bring them to us and get back to policing work and I think it is a real point of working together - whether it is a licensee a police officer or us - none of us like alcohol-fuelled violence.

"It is an easy way of finding common ground to work together."

Airlie Beach

Police in the Whitsundays in north Queensland say they are pleased with the behaviour of schoolies at Airlie Beach.

It is the first year the festival has been shortened to five days, with most of the 3,000 school leavers heading home today.

Acting inspector Steve O'Connell says 27 schoolies were charged with various offences during the festival, with 28 non-schoolies also charged in the same period.

He says police will maintain their strong presence for the next two days as some schoolies booked accommodation for seven nights.

"So far so good, even though those figures indicate there's been a bit of activity but it's probably in line with previous years," he said.

"The behaviour is probably on the lower end of the scale of public nuisance."

It's a fundamental human yearning to be a part of something bigger than one's self, and maybe that's what drove my mate Ash to die, far from home, in a bloody foreign war against Islamic State, writes C August Elliott.